why is she rearing

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Vicki1986

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before i being yes her back and teeth have been checked recently, and she has just had a brand new saddle in the last 2 weeks fitted by a qual saddler. her feed hasnt changed although im going to try to cut it down and see if it will help. the only thing i can think may have effected it is she gets readigrass a few days a week - but she is very well behaved for everything else and 90% of our hacks are tantrum free so not sure its feed/energy related.

my pony has started rearing a fair bit recently when she naps. she has always napped hacking alone on occasion if she see's something a bit spooky and she used to do little bunny hop you couldnt even call it a rear really.
well now if she gets frightened of something and i try to make her go past it she rears vertical with her head in between her legs, or stands on her back legs thrashing her front ones forward
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usually i ride her forward very strong and let her stand for a while to gather her bearings, before i didnt care because these were only small hops up and down and would no way unseat me so i would ride her through it no matter what it took but now these are full on scary rears its horrible!! i have to get off lead her past and get back on or go in a different direction. the more i try to ride her past the more in a tizz she gets and it starts to get dangerous - i'm more worried about her going over than me falling off

she has also started rearing in competition, a few weekends ago she reared entering the ring bcos she was napping and didnt want to, and this weekend she reared in both rounds when she refused a jump.

its starting to get out of hand and i don't know what to do! she's only 13.1 and has never frightened me before but its getting silly now.

about 4 months ago is when this started and i slapped her inbetween the ears with my hand as she was up in the air and she didnt do it again for months but now over the past 4-5 weeks it started again
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it really is like a spoilt brat having a tantrum and i know especially when hacking i need to get a grip and ride her on but when your on a hill/the road/uneven ground i fight with ehr for a few minutes then i get nervous we will have an accident and give up

HELP!!
 
I have no experience of this, but, I did have a friend who had a very nappy mare who got progressively worse. She put her mare on a supplement (stroppy mare or something similar) and it sorted the problem out.... as you are confident it is not teeth, back, saddle etc may be worth a try?
 
Hi Vick!! blinking horses eh!! Is she scared of something when rearing???or just being damn right naughty???
There is something in horse and hound which says its 4 this prob,heres the no. 01430 430911! not sure how much but its some kinda gadget>?? also hun,do u ride her in a running martingale??or something to steady her head? as this may help with control so u can push on more so she cant rear??(do NOT use draw reins or anything restrictive,she will go over backwards)i use a very loose harbridge on scatty B,shes never reared but has half threatened too,i just pushed her on and shouted at her,scared her half 2 death!Dont blame u 4 being nervous,anyone wud be.If she has no probs then its norm an avasion 2 not do something. B is NUTZ & on edge at mo. and im 100% convinced its hunting season and she knows it,this cud be ur prob hun as ur lil mare knows all about having fun hunting.Hence i cant hunt,jump over the winter,as its the only way to make her calm down 2 do a dressage test without going scatty!! goodluck&keep me postedx oh and like alfa A,ready grass COULD be making things worse as its prob very rich,im not sure???(look into it matey)
 
hi hun!!

i have a running martingale on yeah doesnt seem to do much though!!
she only does it if shes spooking at something but its ridiculous lately!! she was going mental saturday cos there was a bush on the path!! for gods sake!! this is my alledgedly brave XC / will do anything pony?! i think not!!

i think you are right she's going really well in the school but i think she has just got the pox with life at the moment she knows by now she should have gone hunting or done something fun!! we are going to go out boxing day for a blast hopefully that will make her sort herself out!!

i will give her another week or two and if no improvement might take her off the readigrass for while

thanks pasha have tried stroppy mare it didnt do much for her
 
I can't really suggest any reason why she might be rearing unless she's just a bit spirited - maybe a calmer supplement would help (Like NAF Magic). If you are able or perhaps if you can get some help, i would try and long rein her out for a wee while (a week or two) passed whatever it is she is bothered about. It should help her get her confidence back if it is a nerves/confidence issue. It should also teach her about going forward again and not up.
Just a thought
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Hope you manage to sort it out.

There is always the old remedy I heard about cracking an egg on her head when she goes up
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Hi

Horses, what a nightmare. I use to have a horse quite similiar and the more you tried to ride him forwards the more he went up. I use to turn him in small circles. Then stand him and ask him to walk on again. And if we wouldn't just keep circling until they get fed up. At least by doing the small circles it stops them from thinking about rearing and at least you are keeping them moving. Its a slow process but it does work.

Hope this helps

Shell
 
The last time someones horse went up properly with me he came back down on top of me. Therefore I cannot stand a rearer.
If anything I ride comes up past the level of a fun "tigger" hop then I do what I read Richard Maxwell does and wallop them on the belly with a crop. Works! Not keen on the hitting them on the head idea, too sensitive and I would end up with eggy pockets if I tried the old school theory!
 
Lol at Eggy pockets. My friend had one that used to get a bit 'bouncy' and go up and she used the really hard thump in the belly method too. It's meant to be hard enough that it emulates being kicked in the belly in a sparring situation. (Can't see how it could work under saddle and you have to have good enough balance to be able to reach low down in the belly
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) I think it worked though
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haha not sure i could ride along with an egg!!!

i used to do the circle method shell2 but for some reason this sat it wouldnt work, as i got half way round (i.e. facing home) she locked jaw and refused to turn again!! will try again next time though maybe this was just a one off really bad one rather than progressively worse?! i hope.

i dont like the whacking head thing. but that time was down a very VERY steep hill on the road and it terrified me and i happened to have one hand free so i did. dont think i can / will again as dont want her to become head shy.

hitting her with a whip makes her buck she hates them and when your in the rear position a quick buck isnt very welcome to me!!!!

will try booting her one then?! will also trying long lineing
 
Just to make it clear Vicki, I mean to really reach under and get the belly, not the flank. Will get the horse to come right down again as it perceives it as a predatory threat.
If she is doing this regularly please make sure your martingale is sturdy enough for you to grab onto!
 
Hello,
I'm having the same problem as you. even more so when hacking alone, my sister prudunce, has run though every thing she has told you, but to no avale with my mare, I do the circle thing, have'nt tried the egg thing, as i do no some one who done the egg and broke her wrist...so i have put her on Blue chip Karma, and two weeks in she seems to be o.k, every now and then she puts her parts on and nap, but i push her forward if i feel safe to do so, then work her in the school. I know how you feel and it's not funny and so not safe as i can feel her getting higher and higher over time, my mare is only 6, but even only 6 there's no need to put us both in danger...
 
hi! i know Lou!

yep i'm on the blue chip too its good isn't it ?? expensive though.

i think i may have worked out that is because im only hacking her alone about once a week - in the summer she goes out 2 or 3 times atleast on her own and it did build her confidence and remind her things really arent scary so i think it just could be done to that, i hope anyway !!

good luck with yours. mares eh!!
 
Thanks Vicki1986
keep us posted, may be swap some tips with each other xx
oh i have also changed her feed, now only feeding her with a 5% starch level.. hummmm we'll see
 
yes definately!! well i took her out on her own on road and also farm this weekend and for both rides had no problems. i took my spurs off so not sure if that helped, when she stopped to look at scary things i just took my time and rode her forward and she was fine. so hopefully she has got over her tantrums
oh and ive also cut her hard feed down so that has probably helped!
 
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